Crime in Progress
by milksey
Summary: "I fucked up. I fucked up big time Shinkai..." His voice cracks, running a hand through his dark hair. It's longer now, reaching his shoulders and framing his slim face down to his jaw; Shinkai wants to run his hands through it. "I killed someone." / Criminal AU Arakita x Shinkai. Rated M for Violence and Sexual Content.
1. Four Years

**a/n:** a new story i had been inspired to write! i'm not entirely sure how long this story is going to be however i'm very excited for it. i had another shinara au planned but this one i found more exciting. just a warning though that this contains references and in some cases explicit writing of sex, violence, death, and alcoholism. for now anyway. i might add more later on, who knows. the main pairing that will be focused on will be arakita/shinkai, with some past pairings referenced and so on. there will probably be a few oc/npc's in here that will appear very briefly as well. but yeah, hope you all enjoy! if you can, please leave some feedback in the comment, thanks!

* * *

It takes Shinkai a few moments to rouse from his sleep to notice the loud knocking at his front door, sitting up lazily to glance at the alarm clock beside his bed. It's 1:47 A.M. and the confusion settling the red head is evident; the rapping against the door grows more rapid, more urgent with each second. Heaving a sigh, Shinkai finds the energy to get up from his bed and walk through the tiny hallway of his apartment to the entrance, glancing through the peephole of the door curiously.

The hood of their sweater is pulled up over their head as they continue to knock hard against the door, glancing every now and then down the hallway in a paranoid manner. It takes a few moments for it to click for Shinkai that it's Arakita in front of his door at nearly 2 A.M., and while a bit skeptical there was no denying the dark hair and signature snarl gracing his lips. He unlocks the door, opens it to look over his old high school friend with surprised bright blue eyes. "Yasutomo?" His name leaves his lips for the first time in four years, yet all the same it still feels so natural.

Arakita has always had eyes that looked as if he was suspicious of every single thing around him, yet there was a certain tone of panic that left Shinkai's heart beating twice it's normal pace. "What the hell took you so long? I've been waiting out here for forever!" he yelled in a hushed voice, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his black sweater.

His dark eyes give Shinkai a once over in his baggy shorts and muscle shirt; he laughs as if this was the most ordinary of situations for him, steps aside to make room for Arakita to enter hastily before closing the door. The bolt lock gives a distinctive click as it's set in place, Shinkai looking over to his old friend as he walks into the living room and sits on the couch as if the place was his very own, not bothering to take his shoes off. "So, Yasutomo..." Shinkai walks over to the raven haired man, not bothering to sit beside him, opting to observe him for a moment. "What brings you here so late in the night?"

Arakita glances down as his feet, legs shaking faintly before looking up at Shinkai with desperation in his eyes. He bites his bottom lip, pulling a hand out of his pocket to pull down his hood before taking the other out to place a hand gun on the coffee table; Shinkai's blood runs cold. He notices now the splatter of blood on his hands and looking more closely on the front of his sweater, it's not much but Shinkai notices the look on Arakita, a look of pure fright. "Yasutomo..." Shinkai speaks softly, obvious concern written along every inch of his face as he places a hand on Arakita's shoulder, sitting beside him. "What happened?"

Shinkai thinks this is the first time he's ever seen Arakita so shook up as he looks away from him in shame. "I fucked up. I fucked up big time Shinkai..." His voice cracks, running a hand through his dark hair. It's longer now, reaching his shoulders and framing his slim face down to his jaw; Shinkai wants to run his hands through it.

"Tell me." Shinkai speaks with a comforting tone that can't help but set Arakita's heart at ease, if only a little.

He's quiet, holding his head in his hands as Shinkai's hand remains securely on his shoulder, a reminder he won't be running away. It takes a few moments of Arakita chewing on his bottom lip to spit it out, it's quiet but it's as clear as day as it reaches Shinkai's ears.

"I killed someone."

Arakita doesn't glance up at Shinkai, feeling his hand on his shoulder tense up. He feels the panic set in ten fold, unsure of how his friend will take the foreboding news. For all he knows, Shinkai could be deciding to call the police on him as he sits there on his couch almost in tears. Arakita knew Shinkai, but after four years of distance between the two, he isn't even sure he does anymore.

It's all his fault. It was always his fault.

"Explain." Shinkai's voice comes hard to Arakita's ears, head jerking up to look at the almost gentle look on his face. "Explain to me what happened."

He breaks at the understanding in his eyes; even when Arakita was a busy acting like a noisy brat in high school, Shinkai was never unkind to him despite everything. It was as if four years of silence was nothing between the two of them, that four years was like four days and they were still-had always been best friends. Arakita spills out his heart to Shinkai; explains the loaned money, the alcoholism, the gun, the robbery gone wrong and everything in between, four full vicious years. He doesn't sugar coat it either, doesn't bother to down play how much of an awful person he's been-awful not even beginning to cover it.

Shinkai doesn't even blink. He doesn't interrupt or ask any detailing questions, just sits in silence and listens intently to each and every word that leaves Arakita. The four years of distance is gone in seconds and everything between them feels like high school again.

It's not though, Shinkai knows that it never will be.

"What do you need?" Arakita looks at Shinkai, his voice serious and his eyes determined.

It takes Arakita by surprise that only a small, surprised "Hah?" leaves him, utter shock written upon his face. Just like that Shinkai was willing to help him out, no "if"s, no "and"s, no anything. That was it; Shinkai was helping him.

"I..." Arakita swallowed hard, running his tongue along his chapped lips. "I need to get out of the city. Somewhere far away where I can lay low for awhile until the heat calms down, where I won't be easily noticed."

The red head nods in understanding, a thoughtful look on his features before he stands up to head back to his room with quick footsteps. "Shinkai?" Whether he doesn't hear the faint calling of his name or if he's just ignoring him, Arakita doesn't know as he waits patiently, almost nervously on the couch.

His palms are sweaty and smell of blood, it makes him gag. It's a few moments before Shinkai comes back out, fully dressed and a duffel bag hanging off his shoulder. Arakita simply stares at him as he throws a clean sweater and a pair of pants at him. "What is this?"

"I'm guessing the cops will probably know what you're wearing from security footage?" Shinkai states simply, for the first time in what feels like forever Arakita is silent, slowly nodding his head in reply. "Change into those. Go clean the blood off yourself while you're at it. I'm getting you out of here."

Silence.

"_HAH?_" Arakita stares at him like he's crazy and at the moment he's sure that's probably the case. "That's it? Just like that you're willing to give up everything of yours in order to help out some-some dead beat, who use to be your friend back in high school, who you haven't even talked to for four years!? That's it?"

Arakita's hands are shaking as he yells at his friend so unapologetic, he had come here for help yet in the end he hadn't expected it so readily.

"Yeah, I am." Arakita freezes at Shinkai's words that come so effortlessly that it leaves him stunned. "So hurry up. We should probably leave soon."

Shinkai turns around to head to the kitchen to pack his bag full of necessities that would be needed for the upcoming trip, yet pauses, turns to look at Arakita over his shoulder.

"Oh and Yasutomo...?" Arakita looks like he's in a daze and the bright smile that Shinkai gives him is dazzling. "We're still friends. We always have been."


	2. Fukutomi: Part 1

Arakita tries to gather some semblance of calm as he rests his feet on the dash of the car, Shinkai having disappeared into a small restaurant to grab an order to go in the small town they decided to stop in. Five hours outside of the city limits, the raven haired man couldn't stop the twitching of his foot, his nerves being shot for the entirety of the day. It was hard to feel relaxed when you had just killed someone and was on the run from the police and some less than savoury individuals.

Then there was Shinkai. It was hard for Arakita to grasp his head around how calm he had seemed through out the whole trip so far, he made casual conversation, sang to songs on the radio, like it was just another friendly trip out of the city between two friends-which was pretty much the last thing this trip was. The growling of Arakita's stomach interrupted his jumbled train of thought, a low growl leaving his lips. "When is that idiot going to hurry up and bring me my food." Arakita clicked his tongue in annoyance, glancing back to the front of the restaurant from the parking lot.

Grabbing the disposable phone he had grabbed before they left the city (at the suggestion of Shinkai, naturally), he scrolled down to find Shinkai's number. Before he could reach his name and click the talk button, he paused on another name that burned into his eyes painfully.

**Fukutomi Juichi**

His stomach felt sick, just the memory of him made him uncomfortable. And while Arakita wanted to blame him and every other person in his life for the unsettling feelings inside, he knew he was the only one to blame.

* * *

Arakita felt sick. Out of all the places he didn't want to be right now (and there was a lengthy list at the moment) this place was probably high up in the rankings. He could feel how his stomach twisted and turned with each second that ticked by, it was no doubt obvious on his face as well since Shinkai placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a comforting smile through the protein bar he had in his mouth before knocking on the apartment door. It was early, 5 A.M. and Arakita hoped that he wouldn't answer the door, that he was deep into his sleep after a long day and he wouldn't wake for another hour like he was meant to.

Arakita held his breath. The door opened to reveal Fukutomi wide awake with the usual stoic look on his features. "Yo Juichi." Shinkai gave a friendly wave despite the fact he was disturbing his friend so early in the morning.

Before he could give any sort of response his eyes met with Arakita's, dark eyes going wide. "Arakita..." He spoke his name with a surprised tone, gaze burrowing into his deeply.

He couldn't bare to keep his gaze and instead looked away bashfully. "Fuku-chan," Arakita spoke weakly.

"Ah, sorry to barge in to early in the morning Juichi, we were hoping that you'd be able to um... help us with our situation." Shinkai spoke up, the pep in him still evident.

Fukutomi glanced over to Shinkai and could tell despite his cheery tone that there was an underlying seriousness to his words. Nodding his head in compliance, he opened the door to his two friends.

* * *

The car door slammed shut as Shinkai seated himself comfortably in the drivers seat. "Sorry that took so long, they got our order mixed up. On the plus side though we got free pot stickers," Shinkai said with a grin, placing the bag of food in between the two of them.

"Tch, about time." Arakita grabbed his order and the container of pot stickers, shooting the red head an unimpressed look as he took his feet off the dash.

An amused huff left Shinkai, thinking that despite the four years that had been situated between the two of them, he was still the same Arakita that he had been back in high school. Grabbing his own order of food, he quickly opened up the container and dug right in, a look of satisfaction on his face. "This is good," Shinkai hummed between mouthful of food. Arakita gave some sort of noise in response that was interpreted as good, giving how fast he was downing his food. "Should probably get back on the road." Arakita grunted in reply as Shinkai set his food aside to start up the car.

Glancing over at his companion, Shinkai couldn't help the smile that grew against his lips. Arakita paused, looking at him with a narrowed gaze. "What?" he questioned, voice short.

Shinkai simply shook his head and put the care into drive, exiting the parking lot of the restaurant and driving out onto the highway.

* * *

The silence that met Arakita's ears was deafening. Swallowing his heart that threatened to jump out of his throat, he looked at Fukutomi with a nervous glint in his eyes, Shinkai meanwhile not breaking under the quiet with his serious expression. The pair sat on Fukutomi's couch across from him, arms crossed across his broad chest, a faint look of contemplation on his features. While the pregnant silence drifted between the three of them, Arakita wondered why this seemed so much harder than coming to Shinkai. He didn't have to think hard on it however, he knew exactly why it was so hard. After deserting everyone he had known for four years without a single word, he knew that Fukutomi above everyone else had taken it the hardest.

They were lovers once, after all.

"Juichi, we really need your help." Shinkai begged, beginning to feel the palms of his hands begin to sweat.

Fukutomi remained silent, Arakita looking down at his feet that had suddenly seemed to interesting.

"Shinkai, leave Arakita and I."

Arakita's head shot up to look at Fukutomi with wide eyes, panic pumping through his veins. "But Juichi-"

"Shinkai." Fukutomi's voice was hard and taut, there was no discussing of the matter further.

Shinkai stood up, walking into the study of Fukutomi's apartment to leave them to discuss what they must. He knew that there was no shortage of things for them to talk about.

Arakita had never feared Fukutomi before, there was never a reason to. He was always stoic and honest and in his own way a bit awkward as well, yet now as he glanced into his eyes he felt fear settle into him like a deep chill in his bones. "Arakita, why did you disappear four years ago? Do you realize how much you made everyone worry?"

He flinched at Fukutomi's words that were a less than welcomed tone, making him feel like a child being scolded. Arakita could feel himself shake under the blonde's gaze.

"I know. I just-" Arakita choked on his words.

"And now you come to me to ask for help... after you've killed someone?" Biting his lip, the discomfort that was in Arakita's stomach only grew with each word. "What reason do I have to help you?"

The words stung more than any wound could; it made Arakita sick. Eyebrows furrowed, he knew he had this coming yet all the same time he felt so weak when it came to Fukutomi. There was no excuse he could give him that would change anything, what was done was done. This was just another mistake.

"I can't say anything that will make it up to you." The words that left Arakita were surprisingly vulnerable, Fukutomi listening with an intensity that he could feel like a bright sun. "I'm just a fuck up. I always have been."

Despite his words, Arakita snorted in amusement at the truth. That's what he always was, what he always had been. Fukutomi was just another fool to place his trust in him.

* * *

"Yasutomo."

Arakita snapped out of his daze at the call of his name, blinking at Shinkai with lazy eyes. "What?"

Shinkai stared at him from the corner of his eyes as he watched the road, silent with contemplation. When a few moments passed by with no word, irritation stirred up in Arakita's features, lips upturning in a typical snarl. "What?!"

"You're still thinking of Juichi, aren't you?"

Knocking the empty food containers on his lap onto the floor in surprise, Arakita gave Shinkai a baffled look, his heart rate suddenly increasing ten fold. "N-No, of course I'm not! What are fucking stupid, why would I think of him?" he barked back, angry at the mentioning of Fukutomi.

The red head sighed almost sadly at Arakita who was just so easy for Shinkai to read, his denial was almost painful. "Yasutomo," Shinkai repeated, a gentle tone in his voice that made Arakita's heart quiver. "You know you can always be honest with me."

"Tch, you don't think I know that? I just came to you and told you I killed someone, what more do you want?" Crossing his arms, Arakita looked out the window, avoiding Shinkai's gaze.

"I know."

Shinkai's gaze flitted from Arakita back to the road, the urge to run his hand through his hair grabbing him once more. Arakita had grown skinnier than he had been back in high school, the sturdy amount of muscle he had slowly dissipating over the years of who knows what he was doing, Shinkai noticed a faint small scar just above his left brow. Shinkai himself had not changed much appearance wise, perhaps he'd grown a bit more thicker with all the added training he had been doing for road racing, but besides that there wasn't much change.

"Do you still ride?" Shinkai suddenly asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

Despite the fact the pants Arakita had been lent from him were a bit big, Shinkai could see the muscles in his legs tense at his question. His curiosity grew.

"No." Arakita's voice was cold.

Shinkai pried no further.


	3. Fukutomi: Part 2

Fukutomi placed the keys to his car in Shinkai's hands with a nod, the power bar in between his lips in the way of his wide grin. "Thank you Juichi, this means a lot." The sincerity in Shinkai's voice was true, a hum of understanding Fukutomi gave in reply.

Looking over to Arakita, the two stared intently at one another, an almost gentle look in his eyes as the two had said what was needed between the two of them. In the end Fukutomi had spared Arakita the embarrassment of sending him away or worse yet calling the police, and instead had opted to give the two run aways his help as good friends should. Arakita however could only think that this kindness was wasted on him, he didn't deserve it.

Hiking up the duffel bag onto his shoulder, Shinkai made way for the door placing his palm onto the handle. "Ready Yasutomo?"

Nodding, before Arakita could turn away to leave Fukutomi grabbed his wrist, halting his steps. Arakita could feel himself go cold under the blonde's touch, glancing back at him with a nervous gaze.

"Arakita." The raven haired man swallowed hard, wrist burning against Fukutomi's touch. "Stay safe."

It felt as if Fukutomi had reached deep into Arakita's chest and ripped out his heart, his chest feeling uncomfortably tight at the innocent yet heavy words. A choked sound leaving him, the faint pink that dusted his cheeks did not go unnoticed. "Y-Yeah." A muttered single word and a rushed nod was Fukutomi's only reply, but for him it was good enough.

Shinkai watched attentively as Fukutomi released his grip on Arakita's wrist, a smile ghosting at his usual stoic visage. Rushing past Shinkai, Arakita made himself scarce as he exited the apartment with haste, leaving the red head and blonde together. Watching Arakita's back with earnest eyes, Shinkai watched as his back disappeared as he turned the hall. Nodding back to Fukutomi, he made after Arakita, an unsure feeling settling in his gut.

* * *

"Is this the place?" Arakita asks with skepticism, a judging look on his face.

"This is it." Shinkai reaffirms, resting his chin on the steering wheel of the car.

They look over the small house in front of them, junk littered around the sides of it and dead grass poking itself through the gravel driveway. It's not exactly run down, but it's obvious that no one had been living in the place for awhile which left Arakita a bit unsettled. Opening the door, Shinkai exited the car to head to the front door, leaving Arakita by himself in the vehicle. Knocking twice, Shinkai wondered if anyone was here. Fukutomi had told him that there would be someone waiting to meet them at the house but that had yet to be seen. The sky painted a bright orange as the sun began to slowly dip over the high mountains, it was well into the evening that the two had arrived at their destination. A small town just off the shore down south that specialized in rice farming, the houses were far apart from each other to give way for a bit of privacy, with only a grocery store, a restaurant, and a clinic available within the vicinity.

The door opened to reveal an older lady well into her 60's with hair pulled into a tight ponytail, colour light brown that was giving way to the grays at her scalp with a homely appearance and bright hazel eyes. "Oh, you must be Shinkai-kun!" The pleasant tone in her voice was comforting and brought a smile to the red heads lips. "Juichi-kun told me you'd be coming."

"Ah yes, it's nice to meet you...?"

"You can just call me Mana." She smiled.

"Mana-san, it's nice to meet you."

"Likewise. I was just giving the place a once over before you showed up. Come in!" Opening the door, Shinkai made his way inside, glancing back over his shoulder to see Arakita slumped in his seat with a bored expression.

Making their way inside, the entrance immediately opened up to a small living room with an adjoined kitchen that was also small, window in each room and back door clearly visible from the front with a staircase beside it. "So as you can see, and I'm sure you could tell from the outside as well, it's not terribly big. As Juichi-kun probably mentioned it comes furnished but not with a whole lot, just a couch, table, arm chair, and a bed and desk upstairs as well." Mana commented, showing him the inside of the tiny house.

Walking into the kitchen, they rounded to corner to walk up the stairs, a bathroom meeting them immediately, followed by a closet and a door to what Shinkai guessed to be the bedroom. Leading him into the bedroom, Mana opened the drapes to let the light into the room from its single window. "It's not much, but it's quite comfy once you get used to it. This was the first house my husband and I bought when we moved here." She finally spoke, turning back to Shinkai. "He's gone now and I'm retired so I can't possibly afford to pay for this place and my current house on my own so it means a lot that you're coming here to rent." She paused, clasping her hands together. "You are still interested in renting, yes?

Eyes wandering about the room, Shinkai gave a content hum, looking back to the elderly lady. "Yes, it's perfect." He replied, giving her a thumbs up. "That's ･8000 a month correct?"

"Yes, thank you very much Shinkai-kun."

Grasping ahold of Shinkai's hands, he gave her a sweet smile before the two headed downstairs. Making their way out of the house, Shinkai pulled out his wallet, pulling out bills of money to give to Mana, counting it out and letting out a satisfied noise as she confirmed the amount. "I know this must seem terribly unorthodox what with paying in cash and what not, but it makes things a lot more convenient for me. So thank you again." Mana finally said, handing him two sets of keys for the house.

"It's not a problem. Thank you!"

Finally waving goodbye, Mana walked down the driveway and onto the road heading back towards town that was only a five minute walk. Glancing at the keys in his hand, Shinkai walked back to the car, startling Arakita who had been dozing off, throwing a pair of keys to land on his lap. "Ready?" Smiling, he grabbed his bag as Arakita grabbed his own and the keys with a huff.

"Yeah, yeah."

Waving him off, he exited the car, heading inside the house which they would call home for the next couple months or so. Walking into the living room, Arakita stood there glancing around and taking it all in. "It's tiny." He spoke pointedly.

"Of course it is Yasutomo." Shinkai replied matter-of-factly.

Letting out an annoyed whine, Arakita began stomping through out the house, inspecting every cupboard, every corner, and eventually stomping up the stairs to the second floor. Shinkai watched him with an amused smile, placing his bag onto the couch and sitting down into the plush arm chair, sinking a bit into the seat. Noticing the sky growing darker by the minute, Shinkai briefly wondered how life would be like living in this small home with Arakita.

A loud banging noise came from upstairs, gaining Shinkai's attention curiously. In a matter of seconds Arakita feet were heard stomping down the stairs quickly, bounding around the corner to look at Shinkai with a startled look. "What is it Yasutomo?" he asked coolly.

"There's only one bed!" He yelled back, arms raised into the air like he had just found a bear sleeping in it.

"Yeah?" It was Shinkai's turn to become confused, unsure of where exactly Arakita was heading with this.

"A-nd there's two of us!" He pointed out, quite obviously.

"Do you not want to share a bed with me?" Shinkai asked rather innocently with an almost upset expression.

Arakita's face went beet red at his words, what he could only guess was a yelp escaping his lips. He didn't reply though, instead opted for waving his hands around with an angry look on his face, or at least with what he tried to make look like an angry expression. In the end Arakita stomped his foot onto the ground, hands falling to his side as he gave an exasperated huff. "You better not hog the blanket fat ass."

Shinkai smiled, sure enough knowing that Arakita would give in. "I won't."


End file.
